Hello Marketers! It’s Ishani here – host of Your Marketing Podcast. We interrupt our normal broadcasting to bring you a special announcement. No, seriously, we are taking a pause for a brief second on our current Series – How to Start a Successful eCommerce Business in Less than 30 Days, to talk about 2020 Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
For e-Commerce businesses, the holiday season is huge! Most eCommerce business owners see the largest spikes in revenue from October through December, and with good reason: It’s really a mega shopping holiday! During the holiday season, a majority of eCommerce stores will double and even sometimes triple what they make for the rest of the year, combined. It’s pretty gnarly when you think about it.
But this year is special, 2020 has been a wild ride for everyone. So should we throw-away the holiday season? I think not! To get the most out of 2020 (even with COVID), you’ll need a good plan for great sales.
Let’s do a round up of what others in the industry are saying regarding preparing for the 2020 eCommerce holiday shopping season. Hopefully, we can recover some of the loss businesses had to endure during earlier days of COVID.
- Earlier Holiday Shopping Season
First thing’s first, experts are predicting the holiday season is going to start earlier than previous years. Here’s why:
- An increase in online shoppers – More individuals are shopping online now more than ever before. Because most want to mitigate COVID exposure and also because many brick-and-mortar stores were closed, which has forced more people to shop online. We know this because eCommerce sales are up 55% year over year for the first seven months of the year due to the pandemic. I know personally I have experienced delays in shipping and also out of stock items. And So smart shoppers are going to order earlier to ensure they get their gifts on time.
- Being stuck indoors has been, well, depressing. Pinterest is already seeing increases in searches for holiday decorations. Everyone is ready to spread some cheer even if it’s 6-feet away from everybody else. So they are predicting people will be spending more to make this holiday season even grander!
So what does this mean for you?
Start preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday now. Literally, now now. don’t wait any longer. The latest estimates from Adobe put 2020’s online sales matching 2019 levels by October 5th — that’s well before the holiday season.
Here’s what you should do:
- Make sure you have inventory to support an influx. It would be horrible if you got traffic but they weren’t able to purchase. Make sure you are all stocked up or, at least, able to order more inventory in a timely manner.
- Start running advertising now. You don’t have to do huge sales or anything like that, but maybe start testing out different ad copy and promotions with your email list to get those early-birds in.
- Put together a gift guide on your website, like “gifts under $25”, “gifts for her”, etc. You can even make themes like “Stay-at-home gifts” etc. Since more people are shopping online, it’s key to give them a little push into what to buy for others. Make it enticing so they “buy.” Now.
This leads me right into the next BFCM prediction, #2, – items that are COVID-friendly might outperform your best-sellers. Crazy right? But everyone wants to give a gift that impresses and is usable right now. You may want to plan now to add more “COVID-friendly” items to your product lines. Items that skyrocketed in popularity since the Coronavirus outbreak include pajamas or loungewear, alcohol, skincare, electronics, fitness equipment, and furniture. Basically, fun stuff to do at home.
If you’re unable to add to your product line in time, then think about your messaging. Can you change your angle? Maybe use “at-home” language? Or “stocking stuffer”? Be creative and try to relate to the situation of your customers.
Now, let’s dive into our 3rd prediction – your promotion is going to be more important this year than anything else. According to the shopping agency, Sales&Orders, “COVID-19 has put an enormous amount of financial stress on the people – what with a notoriously high unemployment rate in the US and government infighting only but exacerbating it all…Put the two together and you have a “perfect storm” of consumers who want to spend less and get more for their dollar.”
Shoppers will be looking around for the best prices, the best deal, and free shipping. So it’s key that your promotion stands out. Here are some creative promotions you could try:
- Sitewide Sale like 20% off. It’s a bold promotion and easy to market, but it needs to be enough of a big, exciting promotion to really entice your customers. A 5% off just won’t do.
- BOGO: Buy one, get one free. It’s a try and true method, and can make sense if your products are great for someone wanting to keep one for themselves and gift the other.
- Free gift with purchase. Everyone, and I mean, everyone, loves getting a free item with purchase. This is a great promotion type if you’re worried about diluting your brand with a percentage off sale. And it can help clear out some of your inventory.
- Making a charitable donation on a customer’s behalf. If the customer makes a purchase, you match a certain amount to a specific charity or a charity of their choice. It makes everyone feel good all around.
If you’re still unsure of your BFCM promotion, head on over to yourmarketingpodcast.com/promotions to get a more robust list with pros and cons of each type.
Okay, moving onto #4 prediction. According to a survey released by Mental Health America, new evidence shows that depression and anxiety are on the rise as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Augh, so sad. Everything is so sad lately, am I right?
And nobody wants sad news anymore.
In fact, using happy, upbeat language can help you stand out to your customers. Use emojis, personalize them with the recipient’s name, and accentuate the positive. A cheerful message in their inbox will make them feel good (and that much likelier to open your email).
Okay, here is the last trend we are seeing that will affect Black Friday, Cyber Monday. There is an uptick in love towards local and small business. “The pandemic has instilled in many consumers a greater interest in shopping local. People want to support their favorite coffee shops, breweries or dress boutiques — so that they don’t go out of business,” says Lauren Thomas of CNBC. And with more and more memes coming out against Jeff Bezos’ income (he makes roughly $2-3K a second, a SECOND!). It doesn’t come as a surprise that being small and local is going to be an asset this BFCM.
So make it a promotional message on your website! Let your customers know your story, how you started, and how you are appreciative of the support the community has shown your small business. Small but mighty, we like to say. Create messages that call out that you are a local business, Women business owner, community, etc. in your emails, on your website, and in your marketing ads.
Okay, so that rounds out our BFCM trends for 2020 and what you should do to get ahead of your competitors. If you need help coming up with a more concrete plan for BFCM, reach out to me and my team at Your Marketing People. We are a full-fledged digital marketing agency that specializes in driving eCommerce results for our clients. Our team of data-driven analysts and creative strategists have produced millions in sales for our clients. Discover how our paid search, SEO, social media, and video marketing expertise can benefit your bottom line by contacting us today at team@yourmarketingpodcast.com.
Thank you for listening and talk to you soon.